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My Judo sensei was relentless, he'd walk around us casually, then without warning sweep or throw us to the ground. With a smile, he'd then point out the weakness or flaw in our stance that allowed him to throw us. Flaws are like that. We aren't aware of them until it may be too late …

by Louis N. Carreras Every year for about six years I made an annual pilgrimage from Massachusetts to coastal Maine to teach a marine carving course at the WoodenBoat School. The courses tend to be intense, with long days full of hard work, camaraderie, and stories. So many stories in fact that you’d think …

The use of “fair curves” is pretty central to building ships and boats, but also to carvers, furniture makers, traditional sailmakers, and other crafts. The Oxford English Dictionary describes a fair curve as “ a smooth curve; especially (Nautical) one in the body of a ship.” That works out well until you put practitioners of …